On my journey to read differently, I’ve experienced all kinds of stories – adventures and suspense, drama and biography, chick lit of all shapes and forms – and out of all of these genres, it’s romance that continues to surprise me.

I like a good love story as much as the next girl, but until TBYL I’d never read a ‘romance novel’ as such, especially the type that feel like a one night stand, lusty, exaggerated and alway happy ending.

The Look of Love by Belle Andre (Harlequin) is one such book. It’s the first of Belle’s books that I’ve read, although I’ve it on good authority that her Sullivan’s series are staples of the romance genre, and the Sullivan famiy are super stars of the digital publishing revolution.

This instalment, the first in printed format, focuses on Chase Sullivan (what a name!) a talented and handsome photographer. After a chapter of introductions, bringing the reader up to speed as to where the rest of the Sullivan clan are at, we join Chase on a bitterly cold, stormy night on the road. Travelling to his brother’s boutique winery for a fashion shoot (of course) Chase comes across Chloe Peterson, forlorn, drenched, battered and bruised, her wrecked car useless in a ditch by the side of the road.

As you might expect, Chase rescues Chloe, and after only a moderate degree of resistance, their hot tryst begins.

This steamy tale, taking place in luxurious bedrooms, inviting spas and spring grapevines will have your heart beating a faster, and I’m sure it’ll make you a little breathless. Sure, it’s formulaic and a little bit predictable, but it’s saucy, and hot as hell. If you’re a fan of romance literature, this will be just your thing.

“Chase took her hand, hurried up the front steps and kicked open the front door, not stopping in the living room even though it meant waiting another few seconds for the pleasure he’d been craving. He wanted her in a bed, the way he’d been picturing her for forty-eight straight hours, naked and flushed with desire – and pleasure – for him.”

Phew!

As you know, I’m always interested in the process of writing, almost as much as the story itself, in particular when an author is as prolific as Belle Andre is. I was fortunate enough to find out a little more about how she puts her steamy stories together…

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What made you decide to pursue writing as a career?I’ve been a huge romance reader all my life, devouring a book-a-day whenever I can. I was a professional musician for ten years (I played guitar and piano and also sang and wrote songs) until one day two fictional characters started having a conversation in my head. I wrote it down and then the next day when their conversation continued, I wrote that down, too! Before I knew it, I’d written my first romance. Two years later, I realized I needed to decide between playing/writing music and writing romance. It was an easy choice to pick books and every day I give thanks for having the most fantastic job in the world.

Your success in self-publishing has been extraordinary. Could you tell us a bit about your publishing journey and how you ended up pursuing self-publishing?Thank you! It’s been a very exciting journey. When I first began to self-publish in the middle of 2010, ebooks and digital readers were still fairly new. I was excited about the opportunity to write the books my readers had been asking for – and as soon as I self-published my first book, I was stunned by how much fun the process was. I had always wanted to write a big series of connected books about a family, so I decided in the summer of 2011 to launch my Sullivan series with 8 books about the San Francisco based family, The response from contemporary romance readers for these sexy, emotional stories blew my mind.

Once my Sullivan series took off in a huge way and sold more than a million copies as self-published ebooks – because of my awesome fans around the world! – I was thrilled to have the chance to work with Harlequin on the print launch of the Sullivans, starting with THE LOOK OF LOVE, FROM THIS MOMENT ON and CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE this summer.

Have you got a favourite place or time of day to write?I can – and do – write at any time of day or night, and I will write absolutely anywhere, as well. When the weather is good, I write outside. If it’s cold outside, I’ll curl up on the couch with my laptop. I write in airports and on planes and in the car while waiting for my kids to finish soccer and ballet practice.

I listen to music when I write and all I need to get into the zone is to pop in my ear buds. Within seconds, I can usually be right back in the thick of the emotions of my characters.

Can you tell us a little about your writing process, are you a plotter or a let the characters take the story where they will author?I’ve always thought of my self as a writer who let the characters take me where they want to go! But then, by the time I get to the end of each book, I realize I’ve written a 50-100 page outline along the way. So I guess that means I’m a hybrid of both styles – I outline as ideas come to me, but I’m always open to my characters and scenes changing direction when they need to. I write between 10 to 25 pages a day in a fairly quick first draft and then I revise each book at least a half-dozen times before publication.